Street Fighter V online beta is pulled offline shortly after launch

Capcom built up a ton of hype for the online multiplayer beta test for Street Fighter V, which went live overnight - months before the full game hits PlayStation 4 and PC sometime next year. Unfortunately, the public PS4 test didn't last for long.

After players reported problems connecting to opponents, Capcom took the servers offline only about an hour after launching. At first, the publisher said that quick fixes were being deployed and that the beta would be up and running again shortly, but now it'll be an extended delay.

In an apologetic statement provided to Kotaku, Capcom PR said, "In order to allow us to fix the issues as quickly as possible, we are going to initiate a period of extended maintenance, during which time the beta will be unavailable to all users. We will let you know the date on which the closed beta test will re-open once all problems have been fixed."

In short, it's not coming back online today. That's disappointing, especially considering how excited fighting fans are over the series' return. But let's have some perspective here: this is precisely why companies hold large-scale pre-release multiplayer tests, because things go awry. Better to find that out now than after you've spent £40+.

Unfortunately, if you plotted out this weekend as your Street Fighter V beta deep dive, you'll have to find some other way to amuse yourself. It sounds like the recently-ported PS4 version of Ultra Street Fighter IV has been significantly improved since the botched launch, plus there's always Mortal Kombat X. Or you can hit our list of the 10 best console games in the world right now for more options.